PrivatBank files USD 3 bln claim against PwC

The bank said this in a press release posted on its official website on April 2.

“Formal legal proceedings have been filed against PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited (Cyprus) and Limited Liability Company Audit Firm “PricewaterhouseCoopers” (Ukraine) (together “PwC”) before the District Court of Nicosia, Cyprus. The claim seeks compensation in the sum of US dollars 3 billion as damages for losses which PrivatBank asserts it has suffered as a result of serious and extensive breaches by PwC of its duties and responsibilities primarily in auditing financial statements of PrivatBank in respect of the accounting periods ending 31 December 2013, 31 December 2014 and 31 December 2015,” reads the report.

Commenting on this issue, Chairman of the Management Board of PrivatBank Petr Krumphanzl said: “Filing this claim against PwC is a logical and necessary step, in light of the great responsibility PwC had for auditing the bank’s financial statements. That firm failed absolutely to identify the ongoing operation of the huge fraud within the bank over many years which resulted in virtually the entire corporate loan book of the bank being non-performing and without any or any adequate security. It will now be for the Cyprus court to determine the claims being brought by PrivatBank against PwC in due course”.

PrivatBank has instructed global litigation firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (UK) together with Cyprus law firms Antis Triantafyllides & Sons and Chrysses Demetriades & Co. to represent it in these proceedings against PwC

As Ukrinform reported, in July 2017, the NBU excluded PricewaterhouseCoopers (Ukraine) from the Register of Audit Firms entitled to conduct bank audits. Previously, the Ukrainian central bank said that PricewaterhouseCoopers evaluated loans in PrivatBank much higher than their real value.

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